About

The Horsefly River Watershed in central British Columbia is home to both culturally and economically important populations of Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, and Sockeye Salmon, all of which historically supported sustenance and trading economies of the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw people. In addition to their cultural importance, each of these migratory salmonids are keystone species that contribute to productive ecosystems in the Horsefly by depositing marine-derived nutrients and acting as an important food source for a variety of wildlife. For these reasons, it is critically important that freshwater connectivity is maintained and restored to allow these species to access their spawning, rearing, and overwintering habitats during their incredible annual migrations from the sea.

Challenge

Salmon populations in the Horsefly River watershed have been declining over the past few decades, and all three species are federally listed as either Threatened or Endangered in Canada. While there are a variety of pressures that have contributed to these declines, aquatic barriers that restrict their ability to access critical habitat has been identified as one of the major causes. However, aquatic barrier remediation is both complex and costly, and understanding the relative trade-offs of different remediation options requires participation and buy-in from a variety of stakeholders and rightsholder to ensure that decisions are made using the best available information and that solutions are designed and implemented by local communities in the watershed.

Solutions

Global Conservation Solutions partnered with the Canadian Wildlife Federation to bring together a diverse team of partners to develop a Watershed Connectivity Remediation Plan (WCRP) for the Horsefly River watershed. Using the Conservation Standards planning framework, this 10-year action plan blends local stakeholder and rightsholder knowledge with innovative GIS analyses to gain a shared understanding of where remediation efforts will have the greatest benefit for Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye Salmon. The Horsefly River WCRP planning team is comprised of 9 partner organizations, including NGOs, Indigenous groups, and provincial and federal government agencies, each of which has contributed to identifying priority actions that will reduce the threat of aquatic barriers and restore fish passage in the watershed.

Results

The Horsefly WCRP identifies five overarching strategies – crossing remediation, lateral barrier remediation, dam remediation, barrier prevention, and education & engagement. Each of these strategies contains a suite of actions with an associated budget and monitoring plan to test their effectiveness toward reaching the project goals. A total of 20 aquatic barriers have been identified that, if remediated, will provide the greatest ecological return on investment for pacific salmon in the Horsefly. Preparations are now underway to begin this remediation work, and these collaborative efforts will continue for the next 20 years under the current plan. With the blueprint for success designed, the team has set the course for positive change for pacific salmon and the livelihoods that they support in the Horsefly River Watershed.

Nick Lapointe

Senior Conservation Biologist, Canadian Wildlife Federation

“GCS facilitated an excellent series of workshops held with local partners in multiple watersheds, including representatives from all sectors. They also helped us to develop a watershed connectivity planning framework based on the Conservation Standards and contributed to a guide to help organizations apply this framework in other watersheds. GCS was an integral part of our team, contributing to both the creative development and delivery of the Watershed Connectivity Remediation Planning process.”